Karachi'de Naegleria Tehdidine Karşı Su Klorlama Yoğunlaştırıldı

Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation intensifies chlorination of water to combat Naegleria threat

• Utility, health dept to jointly collect, analyse water samples • Official says chlorination of water in nine filtration plants at six pumping sites continues • WB to fund establishment of 29 chlorination centres across Karachi, meeting told KARACHI: The Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) has claimed to have reinforced water chlorination, continuous quality monitoring, surveillance, public awareness campaigns and inter-agency coordination to reduce the risk of waterborne infections, particularly Naegleria fowleri cases. A high-level meeting of the water utility held to review measures for prevention of cases of Naegleria fowleri, a single-celled organism commonly referred to as the “brain-eating” amoeba, and to ensure safe drinking water supply to citizens decided to collect and analyse water samples from across the city in coordination with the provincial health department. The meeting came against the backdrop of the death of a 44-year-old man earlier this month due to the “brain-eating” amoeba. The man had no history of swimming and apparently he suffered the deadly infection due to the use of contaminated non-chlorinated tap water. A KWSC spokesperson told Dawn that the meeting was chaired by utility’s Chief Operating Officer Asadullah and attended by Health Services Director Dr Saqib Ali Shaikh, officials from the provincial health department, World Health Organisation, Unicef and other officials. He said the meeting participants were informed that the KWSC was maintaining round-the-clock chlorination at its nine filtration plants located at six sites, including COD, Hub, NEK Old, NEK-II, Pipri and Gharo, in line with WHO standards. Around 240 chlorine cylinders are used every month. Chlorination is maintained at 1.0 ppm during pre-filtration and 2.0 ppm after filtration. It was informed that with the World Bank support, 16 chlorination points had already been established across Karachi, while 29 more would be set up in the second phase. The expansion aims at strengthening water disinfection and ensure chlorinated water reaches distant and tail-end areas. Hydrants Cell In-charge Ayaz Hussain Tanio told the meeting that every government-operated water tanker was now being supplied with one chlorine tablet per 1,000 gallons of water. Chief Chemist Kashan Ahmed told the meeting that laboratory teams conducted daily testing of water samples collected from different parts of Karachi to monitor chlorine levels and overall water quality. Dr Saqib Ali Shaikh said the health department and the KWSC would jointly collect and analyse water samples from across the city. He said that WHO and Unicef had been requested to provide chlorine tablets and other protective supplies. “Deputy commissioners and religious scholars will be engaged for public awareness,” he added. Representatives of WHO and Unicef assured that chlorine tablets, sodium hypochlorite, banners and awareness material for the Naegleria prevention campaign would be supplied in the coming days. Addressing the meeting, the KWSC Chief Operating Officer said that the water utility was utilising all available resources to provide drinking water that meets WHO standards. He directed officials to maintain strict oversight of chlorination, laboratory testing and public awareness, warning that negligence would not be tolerated. He urged residents to clean underground and overhead water storage tanks every six months and use one chlorine tablet for every 1,000 gallons of water as per expert guidelines. He also advised using chlorinated or boiled water for ablution, bathing and nasal cleansing, avoiding swimming in unchlorinated pools or stagnant water bodies, and obtaining water only from KWSC-approved tankers to minimise the risk of Naegleria infection. Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2026